XXXTENTACION’S 17 IS THE BEST ALBUM OF THE YEAR!

After establishing himself on the XXL Freshman 2017 Cover, XXXTENTACION has released a potential contender for Album of the Year. His album, 17, hit the Billboard 200 at number 2.

At 19 years old, he seems to have had a ‘hard’ life, after long battles with depression and mental illness. This leading to endless leagal trouble. But despite his questionable past, he has conjured an album. On Instagram he said this album was for “the depressed ones, the lost ones.” This album mainly has cathartic vibes and visits the deepest and darkest parts of the Florida rapper’s mind.

In the opening track “The Explanation” he explains the purpose of the album and highlights the amount of effort and emotion poured into this album. Although, he keeps a monotone voice, I can hear the pain in his voice. It carries on through the entire album. Despite how different each song is.

The next track is my favourite, is Jocelyn Flores. This was the most emotional on song on the whole album. He devotes this song to his late friend Jocelyn, who committed suicide. He said on Instagram live that he he felt ‘powerless.’ At the same time X was also fighting depression.He said he felt just a step from suicide.

All throughout the album, there’s a contrast between the melody of the songs. I think it represents the back and forth battles of his conscience and the aftermath of it all. From his trouble with the law to the assault of his ex- girlfriend. Also, he often loops lyrics at the end of each track, which I think is genius. X addresses how people can become trapped in a constant cycle of negative thoughts. A very relatable message.

On the whole I think this was the best album this year. It’s definitely on the same par as K-Dot’s DAMN and Hov’s 4:44. If you haven’t listened to this album already, you definitely should!